Kade Ruotolo

Kade Ruotolo was labeled a prodigy from a young age, and he has delivered on that promise by becoming one of his generation’s best submission grappling competitors.

Along with his twin brother Tye, the duo started learning the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at three years old when their father took them to their first class. The youngsters fell in love with the sport immediately, and their aptitude was also evident right away.

Kade wasn’t even in his teenage years when he and his twin brother started tearing up the BJJ scene. In 2013, they began training with the famed Mendes brothers at AOJ Academy to pursue grappling at an elite level. And finally in 2017, the Ruotolo boys switched to Atos and have been under the tutelage of the legendary Andre Galvao ever since.

It didn’t take long for the teenage sensations to reach the highest levels of BJJ and submission grappling. Kade won the IBJJF World Championship at the brown-belt level in December 2021, and Galvao awarded the twins their black belts just a few days later.

Months after receiving their black belts, the Ruotolo brothers made their way to ONE Championship, and Kade’s debut performance proved that he would be a future star in the promotion. He secured a dominant unanimous decision victory over Japanese legend Shinya Aoki at ONE 157 in May 2022. The match was seen as a clash of generations, and the American star showed “Tobikan Judan” that his style of BJJ is one rooted in revolutionary techniques.

After his win over Aoki, Kade competed in the 2022 ADCC World Championships and became the youngest World Champion in the event’s history. In the final, Kade faced Mica Galvao and submitted the Brazilian with a heel hook to capture gold in the tournament’s -77-kilogram division.

Fresh from his ADCC triumph, Kade made history once again when he submitted Russia’s Uali Kurzhev for the inaugural ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title in October 2022.

To date, he has never lost a submission grappling match as a BJJ black belt, and now it appears he is on his way to dominating another sport as well. Ruotolo made his MMA debut at ONE 167 in July 2024, where he submitted Blake Cooper in the first round.